The Day After

One thing about collecting DVDs is the ability to practically run your own TV
network. My best friend and I tend to have little mini marathons of our favorite
shows or sometimes we just pick a theme and run our own film festivals. The
latest topic we explored was the Cold War. For someone of my age childhood, the
fifties and sixties, were built upon a foundation of fear, the dreaded
Communists where always poised to annihilate us with their vast storehouse of
nuclear weapons. Of course we had our own stockpiles thanks to the most somber
by product of the times; the nuclear weapons race. A strange term entered the
lexicon; MAD, Mutually Assured Destruction, the only possible end result of a
nuclear weapons exchange this spectra of doom did not end in the eighties, it
still existed even as the Soviet Union began to implode. In fact the dissolution
of the USSR was frequently cited as a reason for even more concern. On Sunday
evening November 20, 1983 the ABC network aired one of the most frightening
films made; ‘The Day After’. Unlike many made for TV movies this one sought to
lay out a worst case scenario that was largely unspoken but definitely on every
mind, the aftermath of a nuclear attack on the United States. This film had such
a powerful impact on the audience that it would not be re-run for many years and
not be released to DVD until 2004. The film shook the nation and did succeed in
one major goal of the production started a serious and public debate of the
effectiveness of nuclear weapons. The network had to open telephone hot lines to
assist the audience to cope with the nightmarish possibility of the events
actually playing out. One of my most vivid memories of that night was of the
special edition of Nightline that followed. Among the notable people debating
our nuclear policy was scientist Carl Sagan. During that heated debate he
introduced the concept of nuclear winter to the world; even if you survived the
blast and subsequent radiation the long lasting and catastrophic impact on the
global eco-system could result in the extinction of most life on this planet. We
may have different fears that occupy our lives now but this film remains a piece
of television history that quite literally affected the world.

The author of the teleplay was Edward Hume. By the time he presented this
work he was already very well known for scripts for such notable series as
‘Canon’ and ‘The Streets of San Francisco’. While they
were exceptional series this film will remain the crowning achievement of his
career. Most people will recognize the director Nicholas Meyer as a part of the
incredibly famous science fiction franchise; ‘Star Trek’. He directed ‘Star Trek
II: The Wrath of Khan’ before this film and would eventually helm ‘Star Trek VI:
The Undiscovered Country’ several years later. Both Hume and Myers had to alter
their initial visions of this project due to the pressure applied by the ABC
network’s standards and practices department better known as the censors. This
film was created at the dawn of cable television long before the advent of
original programming outside the constraints of broadcast TV. Undoubtedly if
this movie was made by HBO or Showtime today it would be much closer to the
originally reported four hour miniseries planned. Considering the limitations
this production rose far above all expectations. You might think that terror is
created by some supernatural serial killer or creature like Freddie or Jason but
the truly frightening aspect of this film is how close the world came to it
coming to pass.

One of the things that had to be avoided with this film was veering to a
sensationalistic disaster flick. One reason this movie became the ground
breaking event it did was because it succeeded in this so extremely well. The
actual attack last a very brief time and comes almost half way through the
movie. The first section of the film is devoted to getting the audience to
understand the characters. The location was Lawrence, Kansas, a moderate sized
American mid-western it just happens to be located close to the city that just
happens to be located in the vicinity of the Strategic Air Command’s underground
nuclear missile silos. In the event of a war this would be a primary first
strike target for the Russians. This choice brought the film out of the
political and economic centers of the nation right into the heartland. The
events leading up to the war are not overtly shown; the exposition is done
through news broadcasts on TV and radio or casual discussions by the townsfolk.
This moves the film into more of a cinema verite production. Much of the story
leading up to the destruction centers on a group of regular people and their
reaction to the growing threat of war. As tension in Europe rise the
apprehension multiples in this country. Some try to prepare by collecting food,
water and firearms while others attempt to leave the city. One person followed
closely is Dr. Russell Oakes (Jason Robards). Through him the audience gets a
view of how hospitals would be overwhelmed by the thousands of victims, many
long beyond help. We also see the devastating effects of radiation as the
doctor’s condition rapidly declines. We are also introduced to an airman, Billy
McCoy (William Allen Young) stationed nearby. He faces the terrible dilemma
caught between staying on his post and rushing to his family.

For those of us who lived through this period of history the sight of the
missiles being launched. Rising in the American sky on their way to points in
Russia chills you to the core. This was our nightmare for decades and seeing it
here showed just how helpless the average citizen was in this situation. The
film was bleak and despondent especially for a made for television movie. This
had to be presented this way to drive home its point; in nuclear war there are
no winners.

"Imagine a room awash in gasoline, and there are two implacable enemies in
that room. One of them has nine thousand matches, the other seven thousand
matches. Each of them is concerned about who's ahead, who's stronger." - Carl
Sagan